Fiji’s Karan adds second long distance gold

Yeshnil Karan of Fiji added the men’s 5,000m gold to his Sol2023 men’s 10,000m gold at Honiara’s National Stadium on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old finished with a time of 15 minutes and 14.89 seconds, just ahead of Tahiti’s Benjamin Zorgnotti (15:18.92). Papua New Guinea’s Siune Kagl claimed bronze in 15:30.02.

“I want to thank my training partners, my coach and my parents in Fiji for this win,” Karan told the Pacific Games News Service. He revealed that he had been training on Australia’s Gold Coast prior to the Pacific Games, which had helped him a lot with his performances.

Silver medallist Zorgnotti said: “I think I’m happy to win the silver medal even if I didn’t win gold”.

Bronze medallist Kagl told the Pacific Games News Service: “I really wanted to win the 10,000m race but could not perform well due to some minor health issues. Since I got assistance from my medical team, I felt good in my performance tonight. I still have the marathon to compete in on Saturday and am looking forward to winning a medal in it as well”.

By Donaldson Saepioh, Pacific Games News Service